The present invention relates to invalid walkers and more particularly relates to such walkers having an improved wheel retarding mechanism for better control and stability.
Walker devices to assist semi-ambulatory persons in achieving mobility are of extreme importance for permitting invalids to obtain self-sufficiency. Such walkers require wheels for securing the desired mobility of the device. It is of extreme importance that the walkers have stability, be relatively easy to steer, stop and retain in a stationary position. The foregoing desirable attributes can all be obtained through a reliable brake or retarding mechanism for the wheels of the walker.
Heretofore, the brakes employed with walkers most often included springs, ratchets, snap locks and other constantly moving parts which wore rapidly, thereby reducing the reliability of operation of the walkers. As may be readily recognized, any failure of the brake system of the walker might place the invalid employing such walker in an extremely perilous situation. Accordingly, it is essential that the brake for the walker be reliable during use for a prolonged period of time and, in addition, operate without necessitating the invalid to engage any mechanisms.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,567 there is disclosed an example of a brake mechanism for an invalid walker. The brake mechanism therein disclosed requires the user of the walker to apply a pressure through the device's handles to engage the brake. The brake further utilizes a spring to move the brake shoe from engagement with the wheel. The brake shoe only engages the wheel about a relatively small sector of the wheel's peripheral circumferential surface. Only the rear wheels of the walker have a brake.
In U.S. Pat. No. 257,185 there is disclosed a baby walker having a brake for the front wheel. Each side of the wheel's hub is clasped between front portions of the walker's frame. A bolt provides means for varying the frictional force produced between the hub and frame portions. Thus, the brake force is only applied to a relatively small area of the hub's surface, with the brake force being generated through a pinching action on the sides of the hub.